


The Siege of the Swamp Mage

by saxophonic



Series: B.A.P Bingo Challenge 2015 [1]
Category: B.A.P, K-pop
Genre: Enemies to Friends, Gen, MMORPGs, Rivalry, Video & Computer Games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2015-06-27
Packaged: 2018-04-06 12:15:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4221387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saxophonic/pseuds/saxophonic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Himchan and friends play a game and find something they didn't expect. (Bonus fill for "Rival Gamers/Youtube Stars" B.A.P Bingo square.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Siege of the Swamp Mage

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a bonus "Rival Gamers" for [BAP Bingo Challenge](http://bapbingochallenge.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Thank you to [fade131](http://archiveofourown.org/users/fade131) for reviewing this. All remaining errors are my own.

With a yell, Himchan surges forward to slash at the boar. His sword makes contact, slicing through the beast. It explodes in brown and grey pixels. 5 EXP, 3 Gold.

“I think that was the last one in this area.” Hyeri’s voice comes through his headset. “It’ll take a few hours for them to respawn.”

“Hey guys, how do I jump?” Joonmyeon runs into view, jabbing his pike into air. “Whoops. I keep doing that.”

“Just press the spacebar. Where’s the next pasture?” 

“Oh.” Joonmyeon jumps. “Thanks.”

“I think if we head east, we’ll find some sheep.” Hyeri leads the way as the three of them turn and head off through the bushes and trees. “Do you think we really need much more EXP?”

“I don’t think so, but it never hurts to be a bit over-leveled before we finish the sidequest.” Himchan checks his inventory as they run, wondering if he’ll have enough gold in his coffers to buy defense upgrades and maybe a speed booster. It’ll depend on the shopkeep. These smaller towns tend to have unstable prices, and they’re a few hours’ run from the nearest city. It’s unlikely the town will have a group transport, if one at all.

“What’s that?” Joonmyeon stops running with them to turn and dart off Himchan’s screen.

“Oh my god.” Hyeri groans. “Not again.”

Himchan sighs. “It better be good this time.”

They find Joonmyeon in a clearing not too far away, facing a great elk. The creature is enormous, even before Himchan counts the antlers sprawling out above its head. It has a fuschia aura about it, a translucent cloud that leaves a slight trail as it lumbers through the woods. Big KO trophy, almost as good as an area boss. Big EXP boost. “Think we can take this guy?” Joonmyeon seems eager, thrusting his pike forward. Either that, or he keeps clicking by mistake.

Himchan takes a sip of water before turning his attention back to the screen. “Oh, yeah. We’ve got enough power to go a few rounds with big game. Plus, I’ve got a few potions left in case we need to use them.” 

“Guys, we’re so lucky this one’s all boosted,” Hyeri says. “It’ll probably get us most of the way to our next level.”

“Yeah, good job, Joonmyeon.”

“Thanks, guys. My scouter was going crazy.”

“So, how do we want to take this down?” Hyeri asks before proposing a strategy of area containment, beast immobilization, and constant individual attacks. “I’ve got enough MP to keep the thing immobilized. Himchan, can you keep the field clear of other parties?”

“I don’t think we’ll need it.” He checks the map, judging the closest parties to be a safe distance away. “We should be able to get this done before anyone has a chance to get close. Plus, then I can support Hyeri with immobilization. We don’t want this to surprise us with a fast break.”

“Nice,” Joonmyeon says. “Let’s go!” 

Everything goes smoother than Himchan expected. They manage to cast the immobilization spell before they enter the thing’s circle of awareness. The thing only has two bars of health to hack through. The power-ups on Hyeri’s dual swords give her extra damage points on boosted beasts, even before the three of them start attacking it in quick succession. 

The immobilization breaks just after they wear it down to one bar of health, but Himchan quickly casts his own spell before it can do much damage. It’s guard is up now, though that doesn’t matter. One round of attacks should knock its health to zero. Himchan lunges forward, sword ready to deal the final blow for the team.

The beast explodes into gold and fuschia pixels before Himchan has a chance to land his attack.

“What the fuck?” Himchan looks around, swerving his camera to see where the attack came from. “Was that one of you guys?”

“Not me.”

“Nope.”

The pixels clear, and Himchan sees another party standing on the other side, their usernames hovering in black-lined yellow text above their characters. He opens up the local chat.

 **strongchanchan:** WTF RUDE!!!!!!!!!!  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** ...thx 4 ur help? lol  
**strongchanchan:** I should report u 4 stealing EXP  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** we were attacking it b4 u were here  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** y do u think it was so easy 4 u?  
**strongchanchan:** DOESN’T MATTER! OMFG  
**strongchanchan:** we were the ones who got it ready 2 kill  
**strongchanchan:** u left so? not our problem  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** lol ok  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** whatever  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** we still got our EXP tho so  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** bye

“That isn’t fair!” Joonmyeon runs after them, waving his pike. He jumps over the bones left by the elk, but doesn’t quite make it. The group on the other side disappear into the forest.

“They’re not worth it.” Hyeri’s voice is fraught with frustration. “Let’s just keep going to the pasture like we planned.”

Himchan groans. “That should have been our KO.”

“I know, Himchan,” she says. “I know.”

\---

“There’s that guy again,” Himchan says dryly into his headset mic a few days later. They’re the only two parties in the shop rumored on the forums to sell heavily discounted powdered mythril to odd-numbered parties with all the members on an odd-number level. If you jump through the right series of dialogue prompts, of course. Mythril itself is a fairly common metal in this game, but the powdered variety is infinitely useful as the base compound for forging all sorts of power-ups into weapons and armour. 

After finishing a particularly nasty quest clearing goblin mercenaries from a mountain-hugging trade route, the district governor rewarded them handsomely in gold and three rare high-defense rubies. With the money to pay the high-quality blacksmith in the City Capitol, and enough defense power-ups to merit new armour, Hyeri suggested they try for the powdered mythril to pump up the stats. Agreement was unanimous.

“Whatever. We’ve got better things to do.” Joonmyeon’s character turns his back on yjayo’s trio. 

“I wish we could mob them in this game.” Hyeri’s voice carries a hint of glee. “I should have been a thief class.”

Himchan chuckles. “Me too. But back to business.” He leads the three of them up to the shopkeeper’s desk and begins the dialogue. By the end of it, they’ve lucked out with two bags of powdered mythril each for only 15 gold a piece. Himchan isn’t sure if this is more of an easter egg than a game glitch.

“Does this town have a group transport?” Joonmyeon asks as they turn away from the shopkeep.

“Yeah,” Hyeri says. “Near the town center’s fountain.”

The local chat box pops up.

 **y_u_no_yjayo:** u guys try for the powdered mythril?

“What does this guy want?” Joonmyeon’s character inches for the door.

“Our mythril, I’m guessing,” Hyeri says.

“I don’t think any of his party are thief class,” says Himchan. “And, even if they are, mobbing isn’t allowed outside of an encounter.”

“Which they can’t do inside shops,” Hyeri adds.

“So they can’t take our mythril?” Joonmyeon asks.

Himchan adjusts his headset. “No, I don’t think so.”

“At least, they can’t attack us inside the shop. Outside, it’s a different story.” Hyeri snorts. “I don’t trust them.”

 **strongchanchan:** yea we tried  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** and? did u get it?  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** how much gold?  
**hye-dai555y:** just try it yourself  
**s$suho0o:** dickwad

“Joonmyeon!” Hyeri’s giggles bubble into full-blown laughter.

“What? That’s what he is!”

 **sockpuppy186:** omg  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** wow ok ur 12  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** n00b  
**strongchanchan:** maybe you guys will have better luck  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** k  
**sockpuppy186:** yeah thank you

“I just want to beat that guy to a few KOs, just like he beat us,” Himchan says.

“Maybe they’re not so bad.” Joonmyeon’s voice is hopeful in Himchan’s ear as the three of them file out of the shop.

“Maybe.” Hyeri doesn’t sound convinced. “Let’s just get out of here.”

\---

They meet at the coffeeshop where Hyeri works, Himchan’s backpack laden with official books and printed-out guides stuffed between the leaves of his notebook. He balances one of the gameplay books on one knee, notebook on the table as he writes notes to himself. Joonmyeon comes back from the bar with a coffee in each hand.

“Any luck figuring out how we can prepare for that dark mage and the platoon of swamp orcs?” Joonmyeon hands Himchan his cup. “Plus, whatever’s inside the cave that mage is using as HQ.”

“Thanks.” Himchan sets his pencil down and accepts it. “I’ve got a few ideas, but Hyeri’s really good at this kind of thing. I’d suggest we level-grind until we’re overpowered and then come to hack and slash our way to victory.

Joonmyeon sits in the empty chair beside Himchan, nodding as he takes a sip. “Her plans tend to have a bit more...finesse.”

Himchan grins. “Exactly. But we’ll still need the power to back it up. Which is why I think we should move to one of the smaller marshes on the outskirts of this mage’s territory.” He picks up the book in his lap and sets it open before Joonmyeon on the table. The level’s map sprawls between the two open pages, points of interest marked and detailed. Himchan taps on the edge of the map, a colored area mixed with brown and green. “Here’s where I think we should grind. It’s supposed to be a good mix of swamp and forest enemies and it’s on our way from our current save point toward the mage.”

“Hmm,” is all Joonmyeon says from behind his coffee cup.

Pulling his chair forward, Himchan makes his case between sips of coffee. “We start here. Grind a bit. Get closer, grind a bit. The usual. By the time we get to those orcs, we’ll have plenty of experience.”

“Both points and the real thing.”

“Right.”

“What about the mage itself?”

“Well,” Himchan starts, and buys himself time with a long drink of coffee. “We’ll deal with that when we come to it, I guess.” 

They study the map, Joonmyeon asking questions until Hyeri interrupts them, tossing her apron over the back of a chair. “I’ve got 15 minutes until my break’s over. What’ve you guys come up with?”

Himchan grins. “Alright boss. Here’s the plan.”

\---

He logs in alone one day out of boredom, figuring he can explore the perimeter of the swamp. Plus, if he can swing through a few more groups of wandering enemies, he’ll probably have enough gold that he can buy a better sword.

“Why’d you call me over if you were just going to play that game again?” Himchan pauses gameplay and looks over at Jongup. His ex-boyfriend-turned-best-friend deposits a fruit smoothie on the side table before lounging on the couch.

Himchan shrugs. “For the company. I need someone to listen to me complain.” Jongup blinks. “I know you’ve got a Game Boy in your pocket, anyway.” Himchan turns his focus back to the game, but out of the corner of his eye, he can see Jongup fumbling around in his pockets.

“Maybe I’m just happy to see you.”

Himchan snorts. “You’re always happy to see me.” 

They settle into a comfortable, if rare, silence. An hour and a half passes in the blink of an eye. Himchan’s one or two more swarms of swamp goblins and algae lizards away from his next level up, with enough gold for a sword and a power-up.

A familiar username pops up in the local chat. “Oh my god.”

“What is it, hyung?” Jongup asks, politely disinterested.

“This guy again!”

“What guy?”

“This yjayo guy! Jongup, please, I’m trying to focus,” Himchan says. 

**y_u_no_yjayo:** hey  
**strongchanchan:** what do you want  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** im just being friendly  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** are you still mad?

“Am I still mad?” Himchan grits his teeth. “Of course I’m still mad!”

“Hyung, what?”

 **strongchanchan:** how many more exp will you steal from me and my team  
**strongchanchan:** what are you doing here  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** lol okay  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** maybe we werent totally honest these last couple times  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** but that forest elk really was our ko from the start

“This yjayo guy’s been on my nerves since we first met him. I can’t seem to shake him off! And what is this, ‘not totally honest’ thing?” Himchan types furiously into the local chat and hits send. 

**strongchanchan:** ambushing us outside the healer’s circle is more than “not honest”  
**strongchanchan:** and then the time in the mountains  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** ok  
**strongchanchan:** and then your friend KOd my teammate and he had to respawn  
**strongchanchan:** THEN KO AGAIN  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** the first time was an accident

“Does he think I was born yesterday? I know a lie when I see it.”

“You’re right, hyung.”

 **y_u_no_yjayo:** i get it  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** fine you dont like us  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** i could have guessed that from the times you stole quests from us  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** or how about when you guys attacked us in the desert cave  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** yeah you guys are so nice  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** whatever  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** im just here with a bit of advice  
**strongchanchan:** WHAT  
**strongchanchan:** HOW DARE YOU  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** stay away from this swamp mage  
**strongchanchan:** oh so you can steal the EXP prize and whatever else it’s hoarding??  
**strongchanchan:** i dont think so  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** its more complicated than that

“Jongup, I hate this guy.”

“I know, hyung.”

 **strongchanchan:** enlighten me  
**strongchanchan:** since you seem to know SO MUCh  
**strongchanchan:** about this stupid  
**strongchanchan:** swamp mage  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** just  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** dont go near him  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** not yet  
**strongchanchan:** yet?  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** im offering an alliance

“HA!” 

“What happened now?”

Himchan turns in his chair to level Jongup with a disbelieving look. Jongup doesn’t seem to notice the visual scolding, or care. “He’s trying to offer me an alliance. As if I’ll fall for that.”

“Why would he offer you an alliance?”

“To trick me.” Himchan swivels back to his desktop.

 **strongchanchan:** an alliance  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** yes, against the swamp mage

“He wants me to let my guard down so he can knock me out and take all my EXP and gold and weapons, Jongup, obviously.”

 **y_u_no_yjayo:** we can’t beat him ourselves  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** tried, but almost a complete party KO  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** we need help  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** splitting the prize 6 ways sucks but  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** it’s the only way  
**strongchanchan:** why us  
**strongchanchan:** why would we even think to trust you  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** because you dont have a choice  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** you know no one else is at our levels  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** plus i know you guys from when this was in beta so  
**strongchanchan:** you were part of the beta?  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** yes  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** it doesnt matter  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** will you join us?  
**strongchanchan:** i  
**strongchanchan:** ....  
**strongchanchan:** i’ll have to talk it over with my team  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** that’s what i thought  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** PM me in 3 days, or i’ll PM you  
**strongchanchan:** i cant believe im doing this  
**strongchanchan:** fine

“I have to find a way to ruin him before three days are up.”

“Hyung, you should just do the alliance with him.”

“Jongup, no!” Himchan turns around again in horror. “You don’t understand.”

Jongup shrugs, his gaze never having left the screen of his Game Boy once. “Okay. I don’t understand.”

\---

Hyeri and Joonmyeon react about as well as Himchan expected them to. “No way!” Hyeri says, arms crossed tightly over her barista’s apron. Her voice is tight and low, not wanting to disturb the customers in her coffee shop. “Let them leech off another team!”

“Why us?” Joonmyeon asks, brow furrowed. “They’ve just picked us off before. Do they think we’re stupid?”

Himchan stands, both hands gripping the back of an empty chair, and says nothing.

“You want to do it,” Hyeri says. “You want to risk everything we’ve worked for in this game.”

“I don’t know what we should do,” Himchan says. “But it seems like they’ve tried the mage themselves and couldn’t handle it.”

“Serves them right,” Joonmyeon bites. A beat of silence passes between them, filled with ambient coffee shop noise.

“So you think,” Hyeri says, “you think that we wouldn’t be able to handle it, either?”

Himchan shrugs, then shakes his head. “I think we should protect ourselves from them, but at the same time, this swamp situation could help us all out. Even if we split it six ways.”

Hyeri checks her wristwatch. “I’m back on the clock in a few minutes.” She looks up, at Joonmyeon then Himchan. “I’d rather not have to ally ourselves with them, but I can see we might have to. If we figure out a way to protect our items and gold, I’m on board.”

“Me too,” Joonmyeon says. “I guess. I’m tired of losing stuff, and I’m tired of respawning.”

“Gold we can put in a bank,” Himchan says. “Items too. We’ll just carry what we might need.”

Biting her lip, Hyeri hesitates, then nods. “Fine. Do it.”

\---

y_u_no_yjayo’s voice takes Himchan by surprise. Light and melodious, it almost puts him off his guard. Almost.

“Hello?” he asks.

“Yeah I’m here,” Himchan says.

“Woah,” says the voice in his ear.

“What?”

“Nothing,” yjayo says. “Ready for the test run?”

“Just do it,” Himchan says. yjayo sighs and together, their characters race toward an unsuspecting flock of digital sheep.

\---

Hyeri joins them on the swamp outskirts only after depositing all her battle-unready valuables in the Central Bank. “Okay.” Her voice sounds like she’s speaking with a clenched jaw. Himchan assumes she probably is. “Where do we start?”

“We’ll trek forward toward the orc platoons,” Himchan says.

“They’re especially weak to piercing attacks and corrosive spells,” yjayo adds.

A third voice cuts like a reed flute. “Try to run past attacks from any random encounters.” Himchan belatedly remembers the voice belongs to sockpuppy186.

“Wait, are we playing with kids?” Joonmyeon asks. “How old are you?”

“Old enough to kick your ass, old man,” sockpuppy says. The kid sounds pubescent, though Himchan hasn’t heard any voice cracking yet. Maybe late teens.

“At least my balls have dropped,” says Joonmyeon. Himchan hears someone laughing. Maybe yjayo.

“Enough,” Hyeri says. She walks her character forward. “Let’s get this over with.” The rest of their party follows her lead.

They manage to make it to the beginning of the mage’s forces without much struggle. At first, the mage’s forces are easy. Swamp mites, giant flies, and rabid land-walking fish attack them as the party advances. 

Then they hit the fist of the orcs, first a trickle of acid green enemies, and then they’re almost overrun with them.

“Everyone, take down what you can!” yjayo says over the headset. They’re all fighting in a mess of a mel. At least as far as Himchan can tell, they’re dealing more damage than they’re taking. He’s grateful for his custom armour, as he assumes Joonmyeon and Hyeri are as well.

One of yjayo’s party, kmart9312, finishes the last of the first wave. “Nice job,” yjayo says. “We can take a few minutes to regroup. We’ll trigger the next wave once we move forward past this spot.”

“Anyone need a potion? Or even just ointment?” Joonmyeon asks. Nobody does.

“If everyone’s ready? Let’s hit round two.” Himchan leads the charge this time, yjayo following close beside him. It would make Himchan nervous if they weren’t already heading into quickly materializing doom.

The party crushes the second wave, and the third. Before the fourth, they all need ointment or potions to restore health bars to green.

It’s the fourth wave of orcs that Himchan realizes they could never have handled this just the three of them. The screen is a moving sea of acid green, their weapons swinging and cutting down enemies, only for two more to take its place. Goblins and muck trolls have joined the orcs here, and some of the goblins are casting spells.

“Can someone get a fix on the mage?” yjayo asks.

Joonmyeon groans. “Not on my scouter, not with all these goddamn magic-using goblins all over the place.”

“Corrosive magic?” Hyeri’s voice rises over the sounds of in-game fighting. “They’re weak against corrosive magic?”

“Yes,” yjayo says. “Does anyone have MP left for the whole field?”

“I do,” Hyeri says, “but I’ll need someone to cover me.”

“On it,” Himchan says, surprised when he choruses with yjayo. The two of them fight their way toward Hyeri, blocking enemies from physical attacks on either side of her. 

Another surge of swamp enemies hit the field as Himchan’s health bar drops back down into the yellow mid-range. “Shit,” he says under his breath. “Joonmyeon, how many more magic users entered the field?”

A pause, then, “At least six.”

“We’ve got them. Get that spell going!” sockpuppy says, as he and kmart9312 push into the enemies to target the swamp-witch goblins.

“Almost there!” Hyeri says. Himchan mashes his mouse, targeting whatever he can. yjayo fights beside him, fighting just as furiously to defend Hyeri. “Just a few more seconds, and….”

sockpuppy and kmart round from the fifth swamp-witch goblin to the final one still on the field. “We’ve got `em!” sockpuppy cries with glee as kmart slays the last one. “Go, go, go! Just the orcs left!”

Another surge of enemies, premature from what Himchan can tell, sweeps down into their field. They must be getting close to the mage with this many magic-wielding enemies on the field. Himchan wonders if they’ll make it. He keeps fighting, turning to slay an orc that broke past his guard.

“No!” sockpuppy’s voice, full of horror, punches straight to Himchan’s gut.

“What happened?” Joonmyeon asks, character on the far west side of the field as he does his best to clear out the thick clouds of orcs.

“I’m fine.” A new voice, kmart’s voice, comes through the headset. “I had one all-restore left. Keep fighting! We’re almost there.”

The screen flickers as a grey mist descends over the swampy battlefield. “Hyeri, is this you?” Himchan asks.

“Yes. I’m not going to be able to fight as long as I’m keeping this spell up,” she says. The orcs, even those not engaged by any of their party, start taking damage.

Himchan and yjayo clear away more and more orcs, widening the circle around Hyeri and drawing them off her character. Finally, impossibly, the field is clear.

“All that’s left must be the mage,” Joonmyeon says.

“Maybe some bodyguards,” says yjayo.

“We never gotten this far before,” sockpuppy adds.

“How’s your MP?” Himchan asks.

“Not good,” she says. “I’ll need to replenish it before I can even think about taking on a mage with this much power.”

“Are you out of fairy water?”

“I had to use up the last of it to cast such a broad range of acid mist.”

“Christ,” Joonmyeon says. “We can’t turn back now, can we? There’s no save point around.”

“I have one rain of lightning spell left,” yjayo says. “I don’t know if it’ll work, and I’ll need Himchan to cover me, but I think it’s worth a shot.”

“It’s all we’ve got. Let’s do it,” Himchan says. He selects and applies his last two potions from his inventory, bringing his health back to green. Not by much, but it’s all he’s got.

Once everyone is ready, they advance on the map until they come to the mouth of the cave. Guarded by eight easily dispatched orcs and two swamp-witch goblins, the group slashes their way inside.

The mage stands alone in the cave, a long and slender figure cloaked in maroon, back facing the entrance. They glow with the same bright green magic that marked the swamp-witch goblins. The NPC text box appears in a box at the bottom of the computer screen as they turn to face Himchan and his party.

『。。。 _So you’ve fought your way to my lair, but can you fight your way back out?_ 。。。』

“Go! Go! Go!” Joonmyeon yells over the mic as he surges forward with Hyeri, sockpuppy and kmart following. Himchan stays close to yjayo, not sure what to expect.

The mage, predictably, has a magic force shield protecting them. Himchan watches as their characters fly back, hitting the cave wall. The group regain their footing and slink back to attack the force shield itself, weapons doing minimal damage. The mage laughs.

At the raise of the mage’s arms, the force shield begins emitting lightwaves of chartreuse attack magic. The group at the front bears the brunt of the attack, but Himchan and yjayo have enough time to jump and miss them. 

“I can’t jump and cast the spell at the same time!” yjayo says. Himchan wordlessly takes a position, blocking yjayo’s character from the magic attack with his own body.

The hits are powerful, erasing a quarter of one health bar in a single hit. Himchan endures them all, watching the attacks chip away at his health meter.

The others seem to be making progress with the shield. Its status bar is lower than Himchan’s own health, but not by much. 

Just as the mage drops their arms back to their sides, the long-awaited spell takes effect. Lightning rains down, demolishing the mage’s force shield and striking the mage. Joonmyeon lunges with his pike attacking while the lightning stuns the mage. Hyeri jumps up and swings down with her dual swords as soon as the electric attack is over.

The mage falls to the ground, pixels fading into the background.

“We did it?” Himchan breathes.

“I think so,” yjayo says. A white ball of light appears where the mage fell and begins dispensing EXP and gold while sockpuppy cheers over the headset. Himchan watches, pleased, as his level increases by two. The share of gold is nothing to sneeze at either.

“That was still an impressive amount of EXP and gold for six people,” Joonmyeon says. “I wonder what weapons or items we’ll get, too?

The white ball of light fades, to be replaced with the glowing blue orb that denotes a game save point. 

“That’s it?!” Joonmyeon screeches. “Did any of you guys get anything? I didn’t see any weapons or potions or anything.”

“That’s it,” Hyeri says. “Let’s save before we have to do this mess all over again.” The six of them converge on the save point and disconnect their parties. 

Himchan stays in the menu screen, trying to decide if he’s up for some solo game play or not. He sits back in his computer chair, sighing.

The in-game chat box pops up. 

**y_u_no_yjayo:** hey  
**strongchanchan:** hi  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** thx 4 ur help  
**strongchanchan:** np  
**strongchanchan:** it was kinda fun  
**strongchanchan:** since you werent attacking us and stealing our stuff  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** but thats in the past  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** right?  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** ;)  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** so i’ve been thinking  
**strongchanchan:** dont ask me to team up with you again  
**strongchanchan:** NOT happening  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** omg  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** not what i was gonna ask  
**strongchanchan:** ok fine since you insist  
**strongchanchan:** maybe just team up one and one  
**strongchanchan:** my friends dont play as often as i do  
**strongchanchan:** could be fun  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** :)  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** sure  
**strongchanchan:** cool  
**strongchanchan:** :)  
**strongchanchan:** sorry what were you saying before  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** i was gonna say  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** i dont even kno ur name  
**strongchanchan:** himchan  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** im youngjae  
**strongchanchan:** you play a good game youngjae  
**strongchanchan:** when you’re not playing dirty  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** lol  
**y_u_no_yjayo:** see u around  
**strongchanchan:** bye

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to write an epilogue, but I ran out of time by the end of the week. So, please enjoy the image of Himchan, Hyeri, Jongup, and Joonmyeon meeting Youngjae (and his two friends, whoever you'd like them to be) at a gaming convention. Except Joonmyeon is definitely in a cosplay version of his [School OZ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B6rs0lDCAAAyr_t.jpg) costume. Yeah.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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